New wave of e-mail scam claims IRS connection

There is at least one industry growing in this time of economic troubles. The IRS is warning of an increase in e-mail scams this year, likely due to the economic stimulus package.

Kelsey Abbruzzese

There is at least one industry growing in this time of economic troubles. The IRS is warning of an increase in e-mail scams this year, likely due to the economic stimulus package.

Peggy Riley, spokesperson for the IRS of New England, said there has been a new wave of e-mail scams that tell recipients they are eligible for a specific tax refund or economic stimulus package.

The e-mail, which includes an IRS address, then asks recipients to click on a link to obtain their money and submit personal information, including bank account and credit card numbers, so their payment will not be delayed.

Riley said the Internal Revenue Service does not correspond by e-mail, and the only way to obtain funds from the IRS is by submitting a tax refund form.

"If it looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true,'' Riley said.

In July the IRS issued a statement warning that taxpayers reported almost 700 identity theft e-mails - known as "phishing'' - in May and June. By July the number was up to 1,600 for the year.

Amie Breton, deputy press secretary for the Massachusett's attorney general's office, said the office heard about the IRS scam and issued a consumer advisory in February. The statement reminded residents that e-mail addresses, even those from the government, can be easily imitated, and that they should not respond to requests for personal and financial information.

Paula Fleming, vice president of communications and marketing for the Better Business Bureau in Natick, said even the bureau had been targeted in e-mail scams. The most recent scam, which the bureau addressed on Oct. 21, asked consumers and businesses to register software with the Better Business Bureau. Again, the bureau told consumers not to click on any links within the e-mail.

Riley said that the Internet has made identity theft easier, allowing scammers to target anyone with an e-mail address. Before, she said, scammers worked by phone and through letters, often targeting the elderly.

The IRS has a special email address for people to forward phony messages: phishing@irs.gov. Riley said that the IRS's Treasury Inspector General's office is investigating e-mails forwarded to that address.